Tag: Environment

Cellulosic Ethanol

Posted by Shane – September 25, 2007

via: Wired

An interesting article at Wired Magazine (online) talks about using Cellulosic Ethanol to mitigate our dependence on foreign oil. This is definitely worth a read. The primary road block to using this alternative fuel is cost. The simple solution – raise the cost of foreign oil! I have talked about cost being the motivating factor behind most all that we do, and this is simply one more case where that proves to be true. Unfortunately, it is political suicide to even hint at a whisper of mentioning anything related to increasing the cost of foreign oil through increased taxes. That being said, I doubt we will see cellulosic ethanol based fuel on the horizon for quite some time.

Desert PupFish

Posted by Shane – July 13, 2007

via: Live Science

An article at Live Science talks about a rare species of fish, known as the desert pupfish that has been found in some man-made ponds far removed from any known natural habitat for the fish. The ponds are filled with water from nearby rivers which begs the question, “is this endangered species thriving in these rivers?”.

Google’s Solar Project

Posted by Shane – June 19, 2007

via: Digg

Google has created a page where you can see the results of the ginormous solar panel project. Kudos to Google for making such a huge effort!

Google Solar Panel Project

Sustainable Living

Posted by Shane – June 18, 2007

I have been giving some thought to sustainable living recently. While not affluent enough to make major changes in my lifestyle, I have done a couple of things that I think help out.

I have completely eschewed the use of traditional light bulbs in favor of Compact Fluorescent (CFL) light bulbs. This may not seem like a big change, but if everyone did this the amount of energy saved in California alone would be staggering. In addition to their energy savings, CFLs have a much longer life expectancy, so the damage done to the environment during production of the lamp and it’s packaging should be significantly less than an ordinary light bulb.

I have recently become the proud owner of a Honda Civic, which I lovingly call my “Ferrari”. The 2007 Honda Civic LX gets 32 MPG in the city and 38 MPG on the highway (mine get slightly less than that as I did not get the automatic transmission). While not anywhere near the MPG ratings of a “hybrid”, I think that this was a very green choice for me. I have some reservations over hybrids due to the manufacturing problems associated with their large batteries. Also, when the car eventually reaches the end of it’s service life there will be an additional problem with the batteries. I think hybrids are a step in the right direction, but I am not ready to support them yet. They also have a rather high price penalty at the moment.

The final act in my quest to live greener is the act of simply living in an apartment, although this isn’t necessarily by choice! I would certainly prefer living in a single family home, as it provides benefits for raising a family that cannot be had in higher density housing. For now though, I am satisfied with our choice of apartment living.

What’s next? Well, I am not sure. I have recently investigated the use of public transportation for my commute, but found that to be woefully inadequate.

F1 Going Green?

Posted by Shane – May 28, 2007

The governing body of Formula 1 (F1), the FIA, has prescribed a roadmap for engine development in F1 that would have the teams use smaller engines running on bio-fuels in the 2010 racing season. This was decided as a result of the FIA’s decision to have the research and development of the F1 teams provide a more direct impact on the automotive industry. F1 teams have enormous development budgets, if even a small percentage of this is spent helping to increase fuel mileage, or alleviate the dependence on fossil fuels, then I am all for it.

Hopefully, this decision by the FIA will lead to some significant advancements in the automotive industry. I for one think that this is definitely the direction the FIA should be taking. In addition to these changes, I would like to see a few more changes to the rules that I think would benefit the driving public even more:

  1. Decrease fuel cell size to a point where 4-5 pit stops would be required to get through a typical race with current fuel mileage ratios. This would help to increase the miles/km that the cars achieve in order to reduce the number of pit stops that a driver must make to get through a race.
  2. Reinstate a number of the electronic assistance devices that have been removed from the cars. This would help the motoring public immensely by providing safer cars as a result of advancements in traction control.
  3. Remove the mandate of the use of the V-8 engine configuration, but keep the displacement restrictions in place. By allowing the teams to use any engine configuration imaginable they would be using their enormous development budgets to figure out which engine they can squeeze the most power out of.
  4. Allow hybrid technologies in F1 racing! Notice that I said “allow” not mandate. If an F1 team can develop a car that performs better while utilizing some hybrid technologies, then why not allow it? If they decide that storing energy from regenerative braking is worth the extra weight of a dual drive system and batteries, then why not let them do it?

Gas is free?

Posted by Shane – April 25, 2007

Interesting article on TheStar.com (Toronto Canada based) regarding the relative cost of gasoline and it’s impact on automotive development and environmental standards. This article parallels what I have stated previously about Why Things Don’t Change. Basically, Cash Rules Everything Around Me. In order to increase environmental and fuel mileage regulations, the cost of gas must go up… exponentially!

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Posted by Shane – April 10, 2007

On my way to LAX today, my thoughts regarding the lack of viable public transportation in Southern California (SoCal) were further solidified. I would like to make a plea with each and every person that happens across this humble entry to plead with your elected representatives to change this. We need a sustainable, useful, usable, convenient, cost-effective, comprehensive public transportation system in SoCal.

If you have spent any time on the various freeways in SoCal, you will have noticed that we have greatly exceeded their capacity. The freeways and Interstates are congested at all hours of the day, and night. During peak hours, they are utterly useless. The freeways have become the primary conduit for, not only people, but freight traveling to and from the numerous, sprawling metropli that are slowly expanding into each other. Soon, there will be no discernable break in the artificial landscape we have constructed. It will be one giant, man made, concrete and asphalt blight covering all of Southern California.

There are currently plans underway to spend enormous amounts of money adding more freeway. I would argue that there is a fundamental flaw with this strategy. There is a law in nature that nature will fill in any void, that, given enough time, all available resources will be consumed. This behaviour is especially true of mankind. We have an uncanny ability to quickly expand our use of resources to consume all that is made available, and then some. By adding more freeway to what exists, we will only be encouraging ourselves to use the freeways more. By adding lanes, we will only alleviate congestion temporarily. Eventually, as is our habit, we will fill up any additions to the point that they too are rendered useless.

The only solution that I can see, is to eschew the practice of encouraging the use of automobiles and large trucks to transport or ourselves and our freight for a more efficient system of public transportation. Specifically I would like to see a massive expansion of commuter rail, and not just within the limits of any particular city. I would like to see a comprehensive, all encompassing system of light rail, freight, and high speed rail constructed.

To illustrate my point, let’s use this morning’s trip from Rancho Cucamonga to LAX [map]. I woke up (way too early), got dressed and hopped into my car (a nice, eco-friendly Honda Civic). Once we managed to make it to a freeway, we hurried along for a bit until we reached the 210/57 interchange. This is where we ran into our first bottleneck. Luckily, we exited the freeway not too far from this to meet up with the rest of our party and travel along in an airport shuttle. The shuttle driver, being the savvy daily driving person that he is, was able to get us to LAX in near record time and we managed to breeze along at a decent speed, expect for those areas where lanes ended, or merged with other lanes.

While this trip doesn’t seem to illustrate my point of needing a robust public transportation system, consider what I think would be a better alternative. Wake up considerably later, take a bus to the local light rail station, wait a few minutes for the train to arrive. Once aboard, we get to relax as we are shuttled to our first destination, the high-speed rail terminal. After debarking our light rail commuter train, we then board a high-speed, express train that runs straight to LAX, with no stops! We sit in relative comfort as we speed along at 200 MPH towards the airport sipping lattes and enjoying each other’s company in a stress free environment. What took an hour and a half on the freeways should take no more than an hour, including waiting for trains. Instead of sitting in exhaust fume laden traffic, we get to move through the cities with ease. Instead of contributing to conjestion, pollution and the overall stress and frustration of the motoring public, we are able to travel the nearly 65 miles without consuming one drop of oil (assuming the use of an alternative fuel bus, electric trains and power plants that do not use oil products).

This seems like such a better solution that it is a no-brainer. If I worked in Los Angeles, I would be stomping my feet and pumping my fists in anger that this system does not exist. It is insane that we continue to force a square peg into a round hole. Eventually, we are going to have to remove ourselves from the 1950′s. Single family homes, suburban sprawl and a never ending flow of commuter traffic are the ingredients for the disaster that we are living in.

Maybe I should move to France where they have had the TGV for over two decades?

Chrysler just doesn’t get it!

Posted by Shane – September 14, 2006

via: Autopia on Wired

The subject as evidenced by the new 2007 Dodge Ram SRT10 and it’s slightly less than stellar fuel mileage rating of… 7 miles per gallon. Are they f-ing serious? Someone needs to point out that our dependence on foreign oil is the root cause for the deaths of thousands of American citizens and citizen soldiers. Radical islamic jihadists are funded with the proceeds of our gluttunous need for oil. In producing this truck, Dodge is saying that it doesn’t value these lives, that it doesn’t care about 9/11 and that it hopes the American people and the rest of the civilized West will remain sucking at the teat of the Middle East.

I know that they are just producing a product that a certain segment of the population wants, but when you are as big a corporation as Chrysler, perhaps you should show a little restraint in your quest for profits and actual make some decisions that will benefit all of us. Chrysler is bound by the same social contract that keeps us all a few inches from utter anarchy. As a gigantic nationwide corporation, their charge should be to provide the American public with a quality product that we want, but on the same note it shouldn’t be a product that will harm us in the long run.

A quote from the originating article sums up how I feel, and is a pretty damned funny too!

This truck could be more politically incorrect only if it ran on whale oil and panda tears.

Clean Water from Segway Inventor

Posted by Shane – February 17, 2006

via: CNN Money

Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway has invented two new machines. The first, and most important in my opinion is a water purifier. The second of his latest inventions is a power generator. Both of these machines are designed to be used in rural, 3rd world locations. As such they require nothing but the simplest of activities to make them work. The water purifier, for instance, needs only some water to work (presumably power as well), and the water can be any water, even raw sewage. Clean drinking water is one of the biggest problems facing developing nations. In the U.S. we take clean, safe drinking water for granted, but this is certainly not the case everywhere. In most places around globe that do not have the good fortune of being “modern”, drinking the water will kill you, so this invention could substantially improve the quality of life for millions of people. There is some more information about the need for clean drinking water at the following U.N. website Water for Life.

New Mammal Discovered in Borneo

Posted by Shane – December 6, 2005

via: National Geographic

A picture of what may turn out to be the first new mammal discovered in Borneo in over a century was captured by a nightime camera trap set by WWF researchers. Click [here] for the whole story.